One Careless Moment (former title: Never The Same)
by ProLiferChelle
Summary: One careless moment brings about an irreversible tragedy in this AU story, set several years after "Another World" ended. Although the first scene is adapted from "The Gun," this is a new story. I've tweaked the timelines so that Dante and Rain are the same age. Characters not invented by me are the property of Procter and Gamble Productions. Warning: expletive in third chapter.
1. One Careless Moment

Josie and her nine-year-old adopted daughter, Rain, were eating breakfast.

"Mom, when's Daddy coming home?" Rain asked. She took a forkful of scrambled eggs.

"As soon as he wraps up the case he's working on," Josie answered, biting into a piece of toast.

"I miss him," Rain said.

"I know. I do, too."

"But I like having a daddy I _can_ miss," Rain said thoughtfully. "I never missed Popper when he was away. I hoped he'd never come back."

"What are your plans for after school?" Josie asked.

"Dante and I are going to Foster Park with his grandma and Cory and Elizabeth."

"I'm glad you and Dante are such good friends," Josie commented.

"He's my very _best _friend," Rain answered, picking up her orange juice.

####

After breakfast, Josie went to her bedroom to get ready for work. She unlocked a drawer in her dresser, and took out her gun. Just then,  
she heard the doorbell chime.

"That must be the package I'm expecting," Josie thought. She went to the door, leaving her gun on the dresser.

####

Josie did not think about her gun again until she was half-way to the 2-3. She headed back home, figuring that it would be better  
to be a few minutes late for her shift than to come in without her weapon.

She hurried into the house, and into the bedroom. She looked at the dresser, but the gun wasn't there.

"It must have fallen behind the dresser," Josie thought.

She got a flashlight, and looked, but there was no gun behind the dresser. There was a pen she'd been missing for more than a week,  
but no gun.

Josie rushed out. She was angry, very angry at Rain for having taken the gun. She was furious with herself for having left her gun on  
the dresser. She hoped, she prayed, that she could get to the school and get the gun away from Rain before something terrible happened.

####

When Josie reached the school, she saw quite a number of her brother and sister officers in the yard.

A child's body, covered with a sheet, lay on the blacktop. Teachers were shepherding their classes into the building.

Rain stood apart, still holding the gun, saying over and over in an anguished voice, "I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it."  
Gently, Josie took the gun and put it in her purse.

Joe stood there, sobbing. His only comfort was that his last words to Dante had been, "Have a good day in school, son. I love you."

There was no comfort whatsoever for Josie.


	2. If Only

"Rain."

The child turned around.

"Ms. Jordan?"

"Rain," said the principal to the sobbing child, "come with me."

Josie's protective maternal instincts kicked in.

"No," she said. "I'm taking my daughter home. Look at her. She doesn't need to be scolded or punished."

"Detective Sinclair," Ms. Jordan answered, "we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to..."

Josie interrupted her.

"I don't give a..." she stopped herself, and changed what she'd been about to say. "I don't give a flea's  
tush about your school policy right now. I am taking my child home NOW."

####

Toni touched Joe's arm. She did not say anything. Sometimes words are impossible to say, and would be useless.

"How many times," Joe choked out, "how many times have I had to tell someone their kid had been killed? How many  
times did I have to tell someone that? But I never thought... I never thought that I would have to tell my wife... that...  
that _our son..."_

"Do you want me to go with you?" Toni offered.

"Thanks, Toni, but this is something I need to do by myself."

####

Ten minutes later, Joe walked slowly, more slowly than he had ever walked since he was a baby just _learning_ to walk,  
into the kitchen at Carlino's. Paulina, humming to herself, was preparing the food for the lunchtime crowd. She turned  
around. One look at Joe's face told her that something was horribly, horribly wrong.

"Joe. What happened?" she asked fearfully.

"Honey, there's been an accident. Somehow... Rain Sinclair got ahold of Josie's gun and..."

"Is Rain... is she..."

"It's not Rain. It's..."

Paulina knew what Joe's next word was going to be. She knew which name he was going to speak."

"No," she whispered.

Joe nodded.

Paulina's next "No" was a scream of absolute anguish.

"I don't think," Joe said, trying to comfort both Paulina and himself, "I don't think Dante felt anything... he died instantly."

####

Josie got Rain home and put her to bed.

"Try to sleep," she whispered.

"How can I?" Rain moaned. "I killed Dante. I killed my best friend. What can I do? What can I do?"

"All we can do," Josie said, "is go to the people we've hurt, and... ask them to forgive us. And, Sunshine,  
this was more my fault than yours. If only I hadn't left my gun on the dresser."

If only. If only.

Was there ever a more futile, useless expression in the English language?


	3. Two Mothers

Toni walked up to Josie and Gary's house about an hour later and rang the doorbell. Josie came to the door.

"Could you stand some company?" Toni asked.

Josie nodded mutely, and led the way to the living room. She and Toni sat on the couch. Neither one of  
them spoke at first. Toni squeezed Josie's hand.

"How's Rain?" Toni asked. "I can't begin to imagine how she's feeling right now."

"She was a wreck when we got home," Josie said.

"Well, that's to be expected. Dante is," Toni corrected herself. "Dante was her best friend."

"She just kept saying things like, "I didn't mean it," and "what can I do?"

"How did you answer her?"

"I told her that all we can do now is go to the people we hurt, and ask them to forgive us."

"That's probably the best thing for her, facing Joe and Paulina as soon as possible," Toni agreed.

"But how can _I _face them?" Josie asked. "What happened today was my fault."

"How could it be..." Toni began. Then she realized what Josie was telling her. "No. Josie, no."

"Yes, Toni. I... had just unlocked the drawer and taken out the gun when the doorbell rang. I just left  
the gun on the dresser. I never even remembered it until I was already on my way to the 2-3."

"Oh, my God," Toni whispered.

"Joe and I have always been so close... but now..."

"I wish," Toni thought, "I knew how to reach Gary."

As if she had read Toni's mind, Josie said, "I wish Gary would come home."

"I Know. He's the one you and Rain need right now."

"Toni," Josie said, "remember that time... with the tape?"

Toni nodded. "When Cindy blackmailed you, so Grant wouldn't go to jail for burning  
Joe and Paulina's house down."

"Joe forgave me as soon as I owned up," Josie said.

"I know," said Toni.

"But how can he or Paulina _possibly _forgive me this time?"

####

A few hours later, Josie and Rain walked slowly, very slowly, up to Joe and Paulina's house. Josie's  
hand trembled as she rang the doorbell. Paulina opened the door. She looked at Rain with cold fire  
in her eyes.

"What are you doing here? How can you show your face after what you've done?"

"I'm sorry," Rain sobbed out. "I'm so, so SORRY!"

"You're SORRY? You killed my son and all you can say is you're SORRY?"

"Paulina," Josie said, "she's just a child."

"Just a child? Dante was just a child, too. And now he's DEAD!"

"I'm SORRY! I'm so SORRY," Rain repeated.

"Sorry won't bring Dante back to life." Paulina spoke through her teeth. "Dante is DEAD because  
of you. YOU'RE the one who should be dead, you little bastard!"

It was pure, protective reflex. Josie reached out and slapped Paulina's face.


	4. Joe's Compassion

Josie and Paulina stared at each other, stunned. That slap had somehow brought both of them back to their  
senses.

Josie remembered that she and Rain had come to ask forgiveness.

Paulina remembered that Rain was only a little girl.

"I shouldn't have slapped you."

"Well, I shouldn't have said what I did."

"Yes, you should!" Rain broke in. "You should! It IS my fault Dante is dead. I didn't mean it... I didn't  
mean for the gun to go off... but... I TOOK the gun to school, and THAT'S why..."

Joe came to the door.

"Did you make all the calls?" Paulina asked.

"Yes," Joe said. "Sofia will be here for the... for Dante's... for the funeral."

"Joe," Josie said.

It was not until then that Joe noticed Josie and Rain. He sent up a brief, silent, intense prayer for guidance,  
for wisdom, for the ability to forgive.

What must Josie and Rain be feeling now?

Especially Rain.

Joe looked at her and saw a look that should never be in a child's eyes, a look of guilt, of remorse, of anguish.

"I'm so sorry!" she burst out. How many times that day had Rain said the word _sorry_?

"I know you are," Joe said.

"But it doesn't bring Dante back," Paulina said. The bitterness had returned.

"No," Joe said, "it doesn't bring Dante back, Blue Eyes. But I think we need to forgive Rain for what happened."

"You're not... you're not mad at me?"

"Yes, Rain, I _am_ mad at you," Joe answered, "but I don't think I'm nearly as mad as you are at yourself."

"I wish I hadn't taken the gun to school."

"I know," Joe said, "and I also know you never meant to hurt Dante."

"But I DID hurt him! "I...I..." Once again, the child began to cry hysterically.

"I think I'd better take her home," Josie said.

####

Josie had finally gotten Rain to sleep when the phone rang. She went to answer.

"Hey, Josie, it's Toni. I just wanted to check on you again."

"Thanks, Toni. Rain and I went to see Joe and Paulina."

"What did Joe say when you told him how Rain got her hands on your gun?" Toni asked.

Josie gasped.

"Oh, Toni! I forgot to tell him!"


End file.
